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AICPA CPA-Business Exam - Topic 3 Question 60 Discussion

Assume the following facts about Martin Corporation:* The long-term debt was originally issued at par ($1,000/bond) and is currently trading at $1,250 per bond.* Martin Corporation can now issue debt at 150 basis points over U.S. treasury bonds.* The current risk-free rate (U.S. treasury bonds) is 7 percent.* Martin's common stock is currently selling at $32 per share.* The expected market return is currently 15 percent.* The beta value for Martin is 1.25.* Martin's effective corporate income tax rate is 40 percent.Based on these assumptions, what is the current net after-tax cost of debt for Martin Corporation?
C) 5.1 percent.
A) 5.5 percent.
B) 7.0 percent.
D) 8.5 percent.

AICPA CPA-Business Exam - Topic 3 Question 60 Discussion

Actual exam question for AICPA's CPA-Business exam
Question #: 60
Topic #: 3
[All CPA-Business Questions]

Assume the following facts about Martin Corporation:

* The long-term debt was originally issued at par ($1,000/bond) and is currently trading at $1,250 per bond.

* Martin Corporation can now issue debt at 150 basis points over U.S. treasury bonds.

* The current risk-free rate (U.S. treasury bonds) is 7 percent.

* Martin's common stock is currently selling at $32 per share.

* The expected market return is currently 15 percent.

* The beta value for Martin is 1.25.

* Martin's effective corporate income tax rate is 40 percent.

Based on these assumptions, what is the current net after-tax cost of debt for Martin Corporation?

Show Suggested Answer Hide Answer
Suggested Answer: C

Choice 'c' is correct. 5.1 percent current net cost of debt.

The fact pattern states that debt can be currently secured at 150 basis points above the Treasury bond rate. A basis point is equal to 1/100 of 1% (1% of 1%).

Applying the decimals it's:

150 basis points x 1/100 of 1% (or .0001)

this yields .015 or 1.5%

Add the additional basis points converted to percentage (1.5%) to the Treasury bond rate of 7% to arrive at the pre-tax debt cost of 8.5%. Apply 1 - tax rate to arrive at the current net cost of debt as follows:


Contribute your Thoughts:

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Jerilyn
8 months ago
Totally agree, 5.5% makes sense with the tax rate factored in!
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Tegan
8 months ago
Wait, how can the cost of debt be lower than the risk-free rate?
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Laquita
9 months ago
Definitely going with option C, 5.1% seems right!
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Leslie
9 months ago
I think the after-tax cost of debt is around 5.5%.
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Alesia
9 months ago
The current risk-free rate is 7%.
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Raymon
9 months ago
I’m confused about how to apply the tax rate here. Is it just a straight subtraction from the interest rate? I hope I remember correctly!
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Caitlin
9 months ago
I practiced a similar question last week, and I think the effective tax rate really impacts the final cost. I might lean towards option C.
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Margarita
9 months ago
I think we need to take the interest rate over treasuries and adjust it for taxes. The 7% plus 150 basis points seems like a good starting point.
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Minna
9 months ago
I remember we calculated the after-tax cost of debt in class, but I'm not sure if I got the formula right for this one.
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Evette
9 months ago
Okay, let me think this through step-by-step. The module needs to require the PrintServiceAPI, and it needs to provide an implementation of the org.printservice.spi.Print interface. I think option B looks like the right approach.
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Susana
10 months ago
Alright, time to put my Scrum knowledge to the test. I'll review each option and try to spot the one that doesn't align with the characteristics of a sprint.
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